ger the self-serving, cold, calculating man that he really is, he becomes a kind and caring man who has the best interest of the kingdom in his heart. But is Claudius really the mask or is he what exists underneath? This is called into question when Claudius tries to seek redemption for his sins. This scene shows that his character, like Hamlet is not quite as clear cut as most men. Claudius wrestles with his guilt by asking himself, “Where to serves mercy/ But to confront the visage of offense?/ And that’s in prayer but his twofold force,/ to be forestalled are we come to fall,/ Or being pardoned being down?”(III, iii, 49-53) he then answers his own question by saying, “But, O, what form of prayer/ can serve my turn? ‘Forgive me my foul murder’?/ That cannot be, since I am still possessed/ of those efforts for which I did the murder!/ My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.”(III, iii, 54-68) So Claudius comes to the understanding that, even though he wears redemption like his outside self, his real self cannot give up the trappings of this position. Claudius, in his questioning, has separated the mask from the person and has found that the mask is the fake Claudius. In real life, people who have done something wrong create a mask to hide behind in hopes not being caught, just like Claudius did. When this mask is used often enough, people begin to lose track of the line between real and fake, also like Claudius.The female roles in Hamlet use masks in a much different way. Both Ophelia and Gertrude mask themselves from the harsh realities of the life. Ophelia’s mask is far more fragile than any other. Despite the fact that Hamlet’s almost incessant cruelty to Ophelia drives her eventually insane, she puts up a defense trying to protect herself from Hamlet’s cruelty, but it fails. Ophelia believes for awhile that Hamlet loves her deeply, and that he would never ...
